Objective: The effects of a 6-week psychoeducational group intervention on the distress, coping, personal growth, and marital communication of wives of men diagnosed with prostate cancer were evaluated using a randomized clinical trial.
Methods: Sixty wives completed measures prior to random assignment to either the psychoeducational group intervention or a no-treatment control group, and 1 month after completion of the group.
Results: No differences with regard to wives' general distress or cancer-specific distress were noted. In comparison with the control group, participants receiving the intervention perceived that having a spouse with prostate cancer had made positive contributions to their lives, reported gains in the use of positive reappraisal coping and reductions in denial coping.
Conclusion: Although the psychoeducational intervention did not result in changes in psychological distress, improvements in adaptive coping and indicators of psychological growth were found. The utility of group interventions for spouses of men with prostate cancer is discussed.
Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.